Hans Joachim Preiss's Page

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"The type and concentration of pollutants very much depends on the people living in the home. One family may use only zero VOC paints and cleaners, another family doesn't pay attention to what they buy. One family may be only two adults, another…"

"We should mention that Transformations' homes in MA have 12" Double Studded R-45 Low Density Foam Walls and typically not a lot of glazing. An 1,800 sqft home may have two mini-splits on the first floor and one on the second…"

"Quality of life is very important to me, and I am trying to convince my customers that 'you get what you pay for'.
But each their own and I don't think we're adding value to James' question above. Cheers!"

"James wrote 4800 HDD, which I would not consider a mild climate.
Super insulated homes can achieve heat loads so low instead of a geothermal vertical well a slinky can be installed under the foundation at very little cost bringing the price for…"

"Do you have any need for cooling or dehumidification? If you don't, I don't see that this would be an application for a ductless heatpump.
You're correct that radiant will not create a temperature gradient between floor and…"

"Hardly anybody thought of their thermostat as being dumb and unattractive before NEST showed up. Many people thought thermostats could be improved and that their user interfaces were stuck in the stone age, but not many worked on improving them -…"

"That's absolutely where we need to get to in order for energy efficiency improvements to pay off when selling the home. But currently there are so many ways to cheat. E.g. when I know I'll be selling my house next year, I'll turn the…"

In this group, members share an array of images from the field, showing the kinds of issues encountered by home performance professionals in real homes. Each tells a story of how hidden (but fixable) problems in homes can cause high energy bills.

HVAC design, Manuals J, S, T, & D, Duct leakage, Air flow, ENERGY STAR new home requirements, and more. Since heating & cooling are such a big part of home energy use, understanding HVAC is critical.See More

"Could it be that you have a boiler with tankless coil? Boilers are for hydronic heating, furnaces are for forced air heating.
Is this a single family residence? Will you live in it or rent it out? Year round use?
How many bathrooms, fixtures, what…"